A receiving line is always seen at a truly formal wedding. The purpose behind the tradition is to allow the hostess - usually the Mother of the Bride, regardless of who is paying for the wedding - to personally welcome the guests into the reception.
It is very similar to when a couple hosts a formal cocktail party in their home. The hostess greets and welcomes guests, then directs them toward the living room where her husband introduces them around and points them toward the bartender.
It is wise to limit the number of people in the receiving line as much as possible for practical reasons, particularly the time consuming nature of such lines.
Keeping the line short will allow your guests to move through the line quickly. Guests often loathe being held up in a slow moving receiving line.
Short lines enable the reception festivities to get under way without a lengthy delay. It is also probably still favorable to avoid having the ushers, groomsmen and best man stand in the line not only because it will speed things along, but also because it will probably be the more preferred option for these gentlemen themselves.
The fathers are not required to stand in the line, so that would make the line shorter. If one father decided to take part in the line, the other should follow suit. Please remember that receiving lines are very long and if you are on a limited time frame, you will waste valuable minutes/hours in the line. Keep the line to a minimum.
Divorced parents should not stand in line together. Only the parent who is hosting the reception or who you have spent the majority of your time with would stand in the line. If the divorce was friendly, the divorced couple can stand in the line with their new spouses with the groom's parents standing between them -- or to keep from confusing all of your guests, each set of parents can take turns standing in the receiving line. If you decide to have all sets of parents in the line, let the bridesmaids utilize the time to mingle with the guests and prepare toasts, etc. The line is long enough without them in there. Also, children do not stand in the line. The minister does not stand in the line with the bridal party.
Traditional order of the line:
1. Mother of the Bride
2. Father of the Bride (optional)
3. Mother of the Groom
4. Father of the Groom (optional)
5. Bride
6. Groom
7. Maid of Honor (optional)
8. Bridesmaids (optional)
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Receiving Lines
